A Child of his Time

Rating:

Comment | Email |

This article has been submitted by a GrownUps member. GrownUps accepts no liability for its content and the views and information contained within are not necessarily those of the GrownUps website.

Raymond woke and without looking at the bedside clock was aware that it was earlier than the selected time to get out of bed, he had developed a technique which allowed him to sleep soundly yet wake at any given time so the sound of the Alarm clock would not disturb the household

In the stillness of the early morning he lay listening for the sound of any vehicles which were out and about even before 4am, this particular morning the roads seemed empty but the distant whistle of a train could be heard as it left the small station a mile or so up the tracks

He knew that when it passed by the crossing situated near the vineyard it would be time to get up and prepare for the day ahead, which like all fishing trips promised much and sometimes even delivered. The plan was to reach the Bay before the sun rose to take advantage of the quiet waters before the wind increased significantly

With all the gear packed the night before he was able to slip noiselessly from the house, collecting the modified "Manhattan" push bike from the garage, strapping the hessian bag to the rear carrier before engaging the dynamo which provided the light source

The initial part of the journey was along some roads which were still made from brick remnants, one had to be careful as shards of brick were quite sharp and it was not unusual for them to cause punctures which would inevitably slow him down and make for a prolonged trip. Once past this section and over the newer concrete streets to the modern bitumen surface, the ride became easier and enjoyable

The journey would normally take around an hour but this day would be different in that he would be stopping on the way to drop the bike and collect an old 7ft dingy which he had borrowed from a near relative.This did mean however that he would need to carry the craft on his back the best part of half a mile. The last several hundred yards were down a steep incline to reach the Bay, less difficult on the way down when full of anticipation of the fishing to follow but onerous on the way back, more so if empty handed

The dingy proved heavier than he expected, the trip therefore was longer than planed and it was almost daylight when he finally arrived on the shoreline of the Manukau Harbor just past the boat ramp and adjacent to the Boat club. The tide had been making for less than two hours so there was still plenty of mud and sand to deal with before the dingy could be launched into the shallows

There was a rope tied to the bow without an anchor so while waiting for the tide to rise further he scouted around for a suitable weight and was lucky to find the leg off an old steel boiler stand which appeared to be of sufficient size and weight to keep the dingy in one place provided there was not too great a rip

As the first vestiges of daylight appeared he could see the ripples in the calmness of the water as small bait fish broached the surface followed not long after by the characteristic "thump" as a golden eyed mullet re-entered the sea having leapt clear in an enthusiastic display Nearby a Molly Hawk and two seagulls were scavenging along the black slash that appeared out of the storm water drain it was not so much pollution as rotting debris caught up in the softer mud which never received the opportunity to harden

Across the Bay to the north east the tide was creating a scallop shape in the sand while the early morning mist was beginning to lift to reveal the faster moving stream of the main channel which disappeared into the distance under the cliff face which bore the scars of erosion from heavy seas

The incoming tide reached the awaiting dingy, it rocked slightly, a shiver of anticipation shared by the boy as he imagined the Cockle beds hidden beneath the sea grass covered flats. This area would soon have sufficient water depth to support the bottom feeding Gurnard together with shoals of silvery Piper which would attract the larger predatory Kahawai and Kingfish

As the daylight increased so did the wind, the forecast had been for gusts exceeding 80 MPH followed by heavy rain in the early afternoon.

The Hydrangeas' outside of the bedroom window were already swaying markedly, brushing the copper guttering creating quite a noise. Raymond smiled to himself beneath the warm bed covers, it was only the first day of the May school holidays, plenty of time yet to catch a fish, maybe tomorrow 

Print | Bookmark